Subcontractor puts lien on Edmond family home after OKC Pool Company doesn't pay

EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) - An Edmond family is now in trouble after trusting a pool company in Oklahoma City to build a new pool in their backyard. After paying thousands of dollars to the company, the owner was responsible for paying subcontractors to complete the job. But one company has not been paid. That cost is now falling on the family and is something they say they’ve already paid for. 

OKC Pool Company agreed to build a pool for a family in Edmond, but the owner hasn’t paid one of the subcontractors and now that company has put a lien on the family’s home. 

“It's extremely frustrating because I promised my husband that this was going to be, like, the easiest process ever, and it turned out to be kind of a nightmare, and now it's costing us,” said Erica Mitchell. 

Erica Mitchell said in April she signed a contract with OKC Pool Company to build a pool in her backyard. Since then, there’s been little communication, false promises and missed deadlines.  

“I paid Cary $6,200 of my own money upfront, and then he got paid $31,000 from, you know, the finance company. That money he got paid was supposed to pay the subcontractors and he just took it and ran. So now my pool is not fully warranted,” said Mitchell. 

The owner of OKC Pool Company, Cary Daniels, contracted Tulsa Company LBL Gunite of Tulsa L.P. to dig and install gunite. They finished the job, but the rest of the pool was sitting unfinished. 

So, Mitchell sent Daniels a letter to cut ties and get out of the contract. 

Daniels signed it. 

“He texted me and was like, 'I'm going to let you out of your contract. I'm in the hospital, I'm sick. I can't finish your pool,'” said Mitchell. 

Mitchell said the pool cost a total of $62,000. 

$31,000 was given to Daniels to hire and pay subcontractors to do the work on her pool. Mitchell said she paid an additional $6,200 for him to start the project. 

The other $31,000 was paid to the company that finished her pool work.  

“There was $31,000 left to finish the pool, so [the finance company] were gracious enough to try to fit everything in which included the plumber, the electricity, the plaster on the pool, like everything. And he was able to cover that for me... But the only thing that they weren't able to cover was the warranties,” said Mitchell. 

Mitchell said Daniels has been paid $37,200 total.  

Now, LBL Gunite of Tulsa L.P. is holding Mitchell accountable for not getting paid. They sent her a letter putting a lien on their home. 

Brooks Klein with LBL Gunite of Tulsa L.P. told KFOR the company is out of options, and they tried getting Daniels to pay them, but he hasn’t. So, they said it now falls on the family to pay the almost $9,500.   

“We tried everything within our efforts to collect from the pool builder, but as you may or may not know, in Oklahoma you have 90 days, the last day of construction, to file a lien. It’s perfectly legitimate... It’s not something we want to do, but its our last resort,” said Brooks Klein, LBL Gunite of Tulsa L.P. 

KFOR reached out to Daniels several times, but had no luck getting a hold of him. 

So, we went to his home. As we were walking up, his wife was pulling into the driveway.  

She told us he was at home, but could not talk with us because he was watching her 3-year-old.  

We gave her our information and told her to have him call us as soon as possible. 

She said they would have to consult with their attorney.  

Mitchell is just wanting some sort of resolution and said she will be taking legal action.  

“I have to come up with $9,400 and pay them twice, essentially. So, I'm not very happy at all,” said Mitchell. 

Daniels still has not reached out to KFOR.  

According to Yelp and the Better Business Bureau, OKC Pool Company has several 1-star reviews with many families having similar issues. 

Mitchell said since people have been speaking out, he has deleted the OKC Pool Company Facebook page. KFOR also had trouble finding any OKC Pool Company social media accounts or websites.

Oklahoma consumers who have been impacted by contractors like OKC Pool Company can file a complaint with the state’s Consumer Protection Unit (CPU), through the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General. 

In the past, the AG’s office has recommended consumers to hire their own subcontractors for projects they are working on to help avoid a lien.